Senate Judiciary Committee Clears Iowa Federal Judicial Nominees

Senator Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that the committee cleared the Iowa nominees for the open judgeships in both of the state's federal district courts.

Judge Leonard Strand and Judge Rebecca Ebinger had been nominated by the President to fill federal judgeships on both the Northern and Southern District Courts of Iowa.  The nominations must now be considered by the full Senate.

"I was glad to shepherd these two outstanding Iowans through my committee.  With such impeccable credentials, it makes my job a lot easier," Grassley said.  "I appreciate the White House working with me to move these nominations forward."

Grassley recommended Strand and Ebinger to the White House after an extensive effort by a Judicial Selection Commission that Grassley formed after two judges announced their intention to take senior status.  The commission was comprised of highly qualified members of the Iowa legal community, and led by Cynthia Moser, a former Iowa State Bar Association president. The commission also included Richard Sapp, Jeffrey Goodman, Harlan D. Hockenberg, and Adam Freed.

These lawyers spent hundreds of hours carefully reviewing applications and interviewing each of the 39 Iowans who submitted applications and sought consideration.  Eleven applicants were then selected to participate in a lengthy second interview.  The commission's review included not only these interviews, but also a thorough study and examination of the applicants' professional history, credentials, and qualifications.  The commission then made recommendations to Grassley, who - in consultation with Senator Joni Ernst - reviewed the candidates and their qualifications before submitting his recommendations to the White House.

Strand currently serves as a U.S. magistrate judge in Sioux City for the Northern District of Iowa.  He graduated first in his class from the College of Law at the University of Iowa and brings extensive experience in civil litigation from private practice in Cedar Rapids.

Ebinger is a state district judge in Polk County.  She graduated from Yale Law School, was an assistant U.S. attorney in both the Northern and Southern Districts of Iowa, and clerked for Judge Michael J. Melloy of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

The Scott County Sheriff's Office is holding an award ceremony where we are awarding our life saving ribbon for two separate incidents which happened earlier this year. The ceremony will be held Wednesday November 4th, 2015 at 9 am in the Sheriff's Office Pavilion Conference Room. Members of the public are welcome to attend.

First Incident:

On April 11th, 2015 at approximately 11:00 am, Scott Emergency Communications received a phone call for assistance with a man down at 781 W. Walcott Road Lot 134 in Walcott. Sgt. Jackson, Walcott Fire Department, and MEDIC Ambulance were dispatched to assist.

Sgt. Jackson upon his arrival found the person unresponsive and began doing CPR. He also deployed his AED and provided a shock to the patient. Upon the arrival of Walcott Fire Department they found Sgt. Jackson doing CPR and they took over patient care. The patient was shocked multiple times with the AED initially applied by Sgt. Jackson. If not for the initial actions taken by Sgt. Jackson, Walcott Fire Department believes the patient may have had a different outcome. Five days after this incident the patient was walking, talking, and on the road to recovery. The quick actions of Sgt. Jackson to apply lifesaving efforts reflect great credit upon himself, his community, and the Scott County Sheriff's Office.

The quick actions of Sgt. Jackson to apply lifesaving efforts reflect great credit upon himself, his community, and the Scott County Sheriff's Office. The Scott County Sheriff's Office Life Saving award is hereby awarded to Sgt. Robert Jackson for his life saving actions during this incident.

Second Incident:

On June 16th, 2015 at approximately 2:00 pm, Scott Emergency Communications Center received a 911 call from 11196 95th Avenue in reference to a subject being trapped under a lawn tractor that rolled over. Our deputies, Buffalo Fire Department, and MEDIC were dispatched to the scene. Also requested to assist was Buffalo Police Department.

Buffalo Police Department Chief Behning arrived on scene and he informed units the patient was turning blue from lack of oxygen. Chief Behning was able to use a large piece of lumber to lift the lawn tractor off of the patient enough in order for him to breathe. However, due to the weight of the tractor, Chief Behning was only able to lift the tractor a few inches. That was enough room to provide some relief to the patient.

Buffalo Fire Department Chief Adams and Fire Fighter Derrickson arrived on scene they assisted Chief Behning with lifting the tractor enough to where the patient could be pulled from underneath. Buffalo Police Chief Behning's quick thinking under pressure by using a nearby object to take the full weight of the tractor off the patient allowed time for Buffalo Fire Department Chief Adams and Fire Fighter Derrickson to arrive and assist in removing the patient from underneath the tractor. Without the quick actions of all those involved we fear there may have been a different outcome. The actions of all involved reflect great credit upon themselves, their community, and their agencies.

The Scott County Sheriff's Office Life Saving award is hereby awarded to Buffalo Police Chief Behning, Buffalo Fire Chief Adams, and Buffalo Fire Fighter Derrickson for their life saving actions during this incident.

CHICAGO - Governor Bruce Rauner has appointed Pamela McDonough to the Illinois Capital Development Board. She brings more than 30 years of experience in both the public and private sectors to the board.

McDonough is the President of the DeAngelo McDonough Construction Management Company. She has been with the construction management company since 2003. She also serves as President of McDonough Enterprises, Ltd., which is a business development company that performs technical assistance and association management for not-for-profits. Before this work, McDonough served as the first woman director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs. Under her leadership Illinois ranked first in the nation for economic development in 2001 and 2002. She also served in many other state government leadership roles including serving as Deputy Director of the Capital Development Board from 1992 to 1995.

McDonough is an active member of the community. She sits on the Affirmative Action Advisory Board, the Federation of Women Contractors Board, the Women's Business Development Center Board and the Wilbur Wright College President's Advisory Committee.

On Sunday evening October 25, 2015 the Scott County Sex Offender Task Force began home compliance checks for all Scott County registered sex offenders. The purpose of the home checks was to verify that the offender resided at the address listed on the Iowa Sex Offender Registry and that all registry requirements were being complied with.

The compliance checks continued throughout the week and were completed today, Thursday, October 29, 2015. The following are results of the home compliance checks:

Number of sex offenders checked: 360
Number of sex offenders who's residency was compliant: 332 (92%)
Number of sex offenders found to be non- compliant: 12
Total number of follow-up investigations yet needed to determine residency compliance: 16

The follow-up investigations will determine if the offender resides at the registered address they have provided. Those found to be non-compliant will result in an arrest warrant being issued for their arrest.

The agencies that participated in the home compliance checks included the Scott County Sheriff's Office, Bettendorf and Davenport Police Departments, Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), Department of Correctional Services (DOC), Department of Human Services (DHS), Scott County Attorney's Office, Scott Emergency Communication Center (SECC) and the Iowa Sex Offender Registry.

For additional questions, please contact the following:
Detective Rachelle Kunde (563) 328-3268
Detective Rich Tubbs (563) 484-3031